Portable gymnasium standard



2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept.

INVENTOR. JACK E. GREGORY ATTYs.

Nov. 29, 1966 J, GREGORY 3,288,413

PORTABLE GYMNASIUM STANDARD Filed Sept. '7, 1962 2 sheets-Sheet 3,

INVENTOR. JACK E. GREGORY $11 BY r x 5 MLZW k 33 M United States Patent 3,288,413 PORTABLE GYMNASIUM STANDARD Jack E. Gregory, S. 1807 Maple St., Spokane, Wash. Filed Sept. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 222,020 2 Claims. (Cl. 248-458) My invention relates to a portable gymnasium standard for use primarily in indoor and outdoor play areas, for such purposes as supporting tether balls, supporting vol ley ball and similar nets, serving as climbing poles, supports for high jump bars and other similar purposes. It is the purpose of my invention to provide a gymnasium standard which can be used equally well upon hardwood indoor gymnasium floors and outdoor playgrounds, that is constructed to provide a stable base that supports an upright with enough stability to withstand the pull of the stretched nets, the sudden forces developed by the tether ball, etc. and that is portable so that once it is tipped it rests on rolling supports and can be wheeled by teachers and students between positions of use and positions of storage.

More specifically, it is the purpose of my invention to provide a gymnasium standard with a broad base cap housing a heavy reinforced concrete or equivalent wide low body, the base supporting an attachment stem that projects above it for telescoping into a tubular standard that carries attachment devices for attaching net cords, tether ball cords, and jump bar supports. The base cap has thereon a bracket which carries and properly positions a pair of caster wheels to counterbalance the standard and base when the standard is substantially horizontal.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a gymnasium standard having the characteristics just set forth with a yielding surfacing and lining at the bottom for reducing the danger of damage to floors and to the base and for preventing slippage of the base on smooth floors.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of the invention is disclosed. It should be understood however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and should not be considered as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in side elevation of the gymnasium standard showing it in use as a support for a tether ball;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail view of an attachment device used in attaching nets, etc. to the standard;

FIGURE 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view showing how the standard is held when moving it;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the same line as FIGURE 6, but showing a slightly modified construction.

Referring now to the drawings, my invention is embodied in a gymnasium standard for use in supporting such devices as tether balls, volley ball and badminton nets and jump bars, and for use as a climbing pole. The device comprises an upright tubular standard which is about 9 feet, 8 inches long, and a circular base 11 upon which the standard is supported. The base from the bottom of the standard 10 to the floor is about four inches deep, making the total height from floor about ten feet. The base 11 carries a bracket 12 which mounts two spaced caster wheels 13 and 14 so that they project outwardly beyond the periphery of the base 11 about two inches, with their centers about five inches above the floor when the standard 10 is upright. The base 11 is approximately two feet in diameter.

In order to provide the essential stability and strength in the device, the base is made up of a flat cone-shaped sheet metal cap 15 having a depending rim 15a covered with a U-shaped strip 16 of nylon or similar tough plastic material. The strip 16 is firmly cemented to the sheet metal rim 15a. The cap 15 is apertured at its peak and receives an attachment stem 17 which is about one foot long. The .lower four inches of the stem 17 is within the cap 15 and the remainder extends above the cap 15. I make this stem 17 of heavy steel pipe of one and onehalf inch outside diameter to fit within the lower end of the standard 10 which is made of heavy duty aluminum pipe having an inside diameter of one and one-half inches and a three-sixteenth inch wall thickness. With the cap 15, I provide two S-shaped steel rods 18 and 19 which are welded to the rim 15a, to the stem 17 and to each other.

The entire cap is filled with concrete around the stem 17. After the concrete is cured a surfacing sheet 20 is cemented to the lower face of the concrete to cover all the bottom out to the strip 16. This surfacing sheet is composed of a tough resilient sheet of a plastic composi tion such as rubber, or one of the well known synthetic resin compositions. The bottom face of the sheet 20 is roughened as indicated at 21.

The standard 10 is secured on the stem 17 by a bolt 22, a nut 23 and a suitable lock washer 24. To attach the various cords, etc. to the standard 10, the standard is provided with apertures at 25, 2 6 and 27 and 28 at appropriate levels. Attachment eyelet units 29 are shown in detail in FIGURE 4. This unit comprises a tube 30 which is threaded inwardly from both ends and two eye bolts 31 and 32 threaded to match the threads in the tube 30. To mount the unit 29 in one of the apertures -28 the tube is threaded onto the bolt 31 and then inserted in an aperture. Then the other bolt 32 is threaded into the other end of the tube 30.

The modification shown in FIGURE 7 utilizes the same structure as the main form of the invention, but instead of using the fiat surfacing sheet 20, a combination bottom surfacing sheet and annular bumper rim member 33 is used. This member has the bottom portion 34 smooth on its top surface and roughened on its lower surface. It also has an upturned annular flange 35 that extends up around the rim 15a far enough to cover the strip 16. This alternate form of surfacing for the bottom of the base 11 is made of the same material as the sheet 20. It is resilient enough to permit the flange 35 to be pulled over the strip 16.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. In operating position the heavy base 11, weighing in excess of 130 pounds maintains the standard 10 upright for the intended use. To remove the device from the gymnasium floor the extra force needed to tip it over is applied in a direction to tip the device over toward the casters 13 and 14 which then support the device in the manner shown in FIGURE 5, so that the weight of the base 11 is a counter-balance to the pressure on the end of the standard 10. The device can be wheeled into storage position and moved from one use position to another with a minimum of diificulty.

rim and having a filling of concrete to the bottom of said rim;

said base having a stem rigidly secured thereto and projecting upwardly therefrom;

the upstanding standard being tubular at least at its lower end and telescoped with said stem;

means interconnecting the stem and standard releasably retaining them together in telescoped relation;

yieldable covering means on the bottom of the concrete and the lower edge of said rim;

casters secured to said base and having floor engaging portions extended radially outward beyond the periphery of the base, said casters being entirely above the elevation of the lower edge of said rim when said rim is resting on a supporting surface;

said yieldable covering means including a strip of U- shaped cross section fitted over the lower portion of the rim with the inner wall portion thereof bound between the concrete and the rim.

2. A gymnasium standard comprising a base and an upstanding standard carried thereby;

said base comprising a metal cap having a depending rim and having a filling of concrete to the bottom of said rim;

said base having a stem rigidly secured thereto and projecting upwardly therefrom;

the upsta-nding standard being tubular at least at its lower end and telescoped with said stem;

means interconnecting the stem and standard reelasably retaining them together in telescoped relation;

yieldable covering means on the bottom of the concrete and the lower edge of said rim;

casters secured to said base and having floor engaging portions extended radially outward beyond the periphery of the base, said casters being entirely above the elevation of the lower edge of said ri-m when said rim is resting on a supporting surface;

said yieldable covering means comprising a strip of U-shaped cross section fitted over the lower portion of the rim with the inner wall portion thereof bound between the concrete and the rim, and a thin sheet covering the bottom of the concrete and said strip.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,498,646 6/1924 Dahl et al. 280-47.13 1,821,580 9/1931 Rodgers 248-188.1 1,961,922 6/ 1934 Brandstetter 248-354 2,014,290 9/1935 Pohlman -46 2,284,770 6/1942 Scheuer 248158 2,364,794 12/1944 Koch 248158 2,379,572 7/1945 Gibson 248158 2,953,387 9/1960 Portner 280-47.13 3,025,058 3/ 1962 Brumfield 273- 3,057,201 10/1962 Jaeger 73-379 FOREIGN PATENTS 871,423 1/ 1942 France. 670,360 4/1952 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

J. C. MUNRO, .T. H. LACHEEN, J. F. FOSS,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. A GYMNASIUM STANDARD COMPRISING A BASE AND AN UPSTANDING STANDARD CARRIED THEREBY; SAID BASE COMPRISING A METAL CAP HAVING A DEPENDING RIM AND HAVING A FILLING OF CONCRETE TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID RIM; SAID BASE HAVING A STEM RIGIDLY SECURED THERETO AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY THEREFROM; THE UPSTANDING STANDARD BEING TUBULAR AT LEAST AT ITS LOWER END AND TELESCOPED WITH SAID STEM: MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE STEM AND STANDARD RELEASABLY RETAINING THEM TOGETHER IN TELESCOPED RELATION; YIELDABLE COVERING MEANS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CONCRETE AND THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID RIM; CASTERS SECURED TO SAID BASE AND HAVING FLOOR ENGAGING PORTION EXTENDED RADIALLY OUTWARD BEYOND THE PERIPHERY OF THE BASE, SAID CASTERS BEING ENTIRELY ABOVE THE ELEVATION OF THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID RIM WHEN SAID RIM IS RESTING ON A SUPPORTING SURFACE; SAID YIELDABLE COVERING MEANS INCLUDING A STRIP OF USHAPED CROSS SECTION FITTED OVER THE LOWER PORTION OF THE RIM WITH THE INNER WALL PORTION THEREOF BOUND BETWEEN THE CONCRETE AND THE RIM. 